Even though Superboy still wears a version of that infamous "S" on his chest, the title character of Scott Lobdell's DC Comics series is a different guy from the one before the New 52 relaunch.
Connor Kent was the hybrid of Superman and his No 1 enemy Lex Luthor. He's also a card-carrying member of the Teen Titans and its heaviest hitter. However, with the relaunched character, Lobdell is showing Superboy's early days in the science labs of the evil organisation N.O.W.H.E.R.E. as they prepare to unleash him on Robin, Wonder Girl and the rest of the Titans. "In this version, he doesn't understand right and wrong because it's not even in his field of vision," Lobdell says.
Readers get to see the extent of N.O.W.H.E.R.E.'s evil activities and the reality of the frightening people who work for them.
Superboy has found a friend of sorts in scientist Dr Caitlin Fairchild, a woman with her own abilities and conflicts, "somebody who could be an equal as opposed to another damsel in distress," according to Lobdell.
Superboy will learn what he can to do people and what they can do to him in upcoming stories, Lobdell says, and he will be more a main adversary than a best friend.
Lobdell aims to surprise readers and avoid familiarity with the hero's new way of doing things. "Fans are usually most excited by having their expectations upended and taken off in a different direction," he says.